Recent actions by professional athletes make it seem as if sportsmanship has disappeared from the athletic arena.  Television highlights and newspaper articles regularly contain footage of athletes performing in an unsportsmanlike manner.  Despite all of the negative press relating to the concept of sportsmanship, there are still many athletes who continue to hold on to the ideals of a good sport.  The cluster of web sites that I have included contains articles that deal with many aspects of sportsmanship.  One of the sites describes a recent "town meeting" which aired in early November on ESPN and offers insight into the current role of sportsmanship in professional sports.  Other sites list guidelines for sportsmanship designed for both amateur and professional athletes.  A few of the web sites offer insight into the relationship between ethics and sportsmanship.  Most of the sites I have selected contain links to other sites that will hopefully prove useful.

Panel of athletes debates role of sportsmanship in today's athletics on ESPN (http://www.detnews.com/1997/sports/9711/05/11050212.htm)
This site analyzes the debate which recently (11/97) aired on ESPN regarding the state of sportsmanship in professional sports.

UIL Making a World of Difference  (http://www.utexas.edu/admin/uil/ath/sports/ethics.html)
This site lists several activities that will encourage sportsmanship and ethical conduct.

Guest editorial:  Ethics, sportsmanship: Sides of the same coin  (http://www.ncaa.org/news/960722/comment.html)
This site describes the relationship between ethics and sportsmanship.

Joyner-Kersee:  They'll steal your shoes  (http://espn.sportszone.com/editors/gen/features/sportsmanship/joynerkersee.html)
This site contains Jackie Joyner-Kersee's view on sportsmanship and offers links to other sites.

Promoting Sportsmanship  (http://www.utexas.edu/admin/uil/ath/sports/promote.html)
This site offers ideas that are useful to promote good sportsmanship.

IHSA  (http://ihsa.org/feature/sawa/index.htm)
This site is the home page for the Illinois High School Association and contains various links to sportsmanship web sites.
 

Additions submitted by Sarah Elliott, Fall, 1998:

Foul Play! Parents and Coaches can save good sportsmanship from extinction (http://www.sportsparents.com/sportsmanship/index.html)
This article offers a discussion of professional sports as good/bad role models for children, and also offers tips to parents on how to instill good sportsmanship values in children at a young age.

National Sportsmanship Day  (http://doe.state.in.us/super/022197/nsd97.html)
High schools in Indiana lead the nation each year in participation in National Sportsmanship Day, a time reserved for exploration and action into today's sports values.
 

Return to class readings page:  Kinesiology 493: Philosophy of Kinesiology